“With the setting sun and temperatures dropping, the road temperature cooled dramatically,” he said. “We’d been treating the roads all day, but conditions were optimal for that flash freeze to occur and it happened.”

Whitaker said that on an average night, he'll drive about 340 miles back and forth from I-70 and 6th Avenue to C-470 and Wadsworth over the course of 12 hours.

When asked about the biggest hazard he faces, he said traffic, especially cars trying to get around the trucks.

He sees all kinds of things on the road, like “people spinning out in front of you," he said. Too many of them are in a hurry, he said.

“We frequently find them off the side of the road after they’ve passed us,” he said.

He said he understands that people become upset that the trucks aren't moving fast enough on the roads.

"But at the end of the day, we’re the ones out here trying to keep them safe," he said.

Whitaker said he likes working the night shift because there are fewer people on the road.

“At 1 in the morning, when it’s snowing hard and we’re literally the only people out here, that’s when I think it’s the most enjoyable," he said. "You don’t have to worry as much. You know you’re doing a good thing for everybody.”

Whitaker said a key takeaway for motorists during a snow storm is to slow down.

“If you see us coming, just stay out of our way and let us do our jobs,” he said.

Morning commute

Late Sunday night, I-25 was slushy and icy in spots. The ramps were snow packed. In Denver, Broadway and South Broadway were snow-packed and very slippery.

The bridges crossing Cherry Creek were also icy, snow-packed and slippery.

Several cars fished-tailed trying to stop at the First and Downing intersection. One car crashed at that location.

Those conditions could portend a treacherous morning commute.

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